Kamîle Temê met Abdullah Öcalan and the PKK in Northern Syria in 1982, and since then her house in the village of Merga Mîra near Dêrik has been open to the guerrillas. Numerous fighters used the village as a stopover and were guests of Kamîle Temê. Sakine Cansız (Sara) was among them. When Kamîle died in 2021, she left her son Dilbirîn Temê a handbag that Sakine Cansız had given her. Dilbirîn was twelve years old when he met the Kurdish revolutionary.

As Dilbirîn Temê told ANF, Sakine Cansız was on her way to the mountains from the PKK academy in Lebanon at the time. “She came to us in 1993. Our house in Merga Mîra was a gathering point for the guerrillas on their way to the mountains and back from there. It was a large group, but Heval (Comrade) Sara immediately caught the eye. With her stance, she spread warmth in the house. She had a very special personality.”

Like my mother's daughter

Speaking about the three days that Sakine Cansız spent with his family, Dilbirîn Temê continued: “We didn't know Heval Sara. She was a new face to us, but from the first day she behaved like a daughter of the house and not like a stranger. She spoke to us, children, to women and men. She treated my mother like a daughter. There were fifty or sixty people in the group, but Heval Sara stood out.”

“I gave Sarah my word”

The first attempt to cross the Syrian-Iraqi border failed, said Dilbirîn: “She came back to us. We were actually happy about it. My mother was especially happy. 'My daughter is back home,' she said. She felt close to her. When Heval Sara finally left, she gave my mother her bag and said, 'You are my mother and this is my home too.' She was only with us for three days, but we felt like we had known her for years. Her behavior showed how aware she was. We felt very close to her. She chatted with us and asked lots of questions. My mother treasured Heval Sara's bag. Now I keep it. She has great spiritual value to me. Heval Sara was a great revolutionary and her bag is a memento. I was only twelve years old, but Heval Sara left an unforgettable mark. For my mother, getting to know her was the beginning of a new time. Our family was patriotic, but Heval Sara's attitude had a special impact on the family. My mother became even more active and at that time she said: 'I gave Sara my word'."